The OSO rolls out blockbuster orchestral works
Twenty-three-year-old pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko was born and raised in Salmon Arm, BC, but these days, he’s busy performing around the world, winning international piano competitions, and taking the classical music world by storm.
In February, local audiences have the opportunity to hear this world-class musician with local roots perform the notoriously difficult Third Piano Concerto by Sergei Rachmaninoff with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra.
“Two qualities of Rachmaninoff’s music that I find especially wonderful are his brilliant and innovative use of the piano, and his gift for melody writing. He displays a complete command of the instrument, and a keen sensitivity for sonority,” says Jaeden. “The 3rd Concerto contains some of his most recognizable, singable tunes, which undergo wonderful transformation and reharmonization over the course of the work.”
KELOWNAFriday, Feb 107:30 pmKelowna Community TheatrePENTICTONSaturday, Feb 117:30 pmCleland Community TheatreVERNONSunday, Feb 127:00 pmTrinity United Church
OSO Music Director Rosemary Thomson confidently predicts that Jaeden “will raise the roof as he dominates this fiendishly difficult and thrilling concerto, made famous in the movie ‘Shine’. This concert will resonate with power.” Experiencing music LIVE is always better! Frank Daykin of New York Concert Review, Inc. describes Jaeden Izik-Dzurko as having “…one of the most refined tonal palettes I have ever heard.” After completing his Bachelor of Music degree at the Juilliard School in New York, Jaeden is now pursuing a Master of Music degree at UBC. Within the past year, he has taken first prizes at the Hilton Head (South Carolina), the Maria Canals (Barcelona), and the Paloma O’Shea Santander (Santander, Spain) International Piano Competitions, and second place in the Orchestra symphonique de Montreal Competition. He is also a Grand Prize winner at the Federation of Canadian Music Festivals’ National Competition, a winner of Juilliard’s Gina Bachauer Scholarship Competition, and a Laureate of the Cochran International Piano Competition, among other honours.
“Is there something in the water in Canada that develops virtuoso pianists?”— New York Concert Review
Jaeden’s teacher at UBC, Dr. Corey Hamm, set him the mind-boggling challenge of learning and memorizing the wickedly difficult Rachmaninoff Third in one month – a challenge that he accepted, and achieved. He first performed the concerto in March 2022, in the final round of the Hilton Head International Piano Competition. “I was fortunate enough to play it again with three other orchestras within the next several months, most recently with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra at the final of the OSM Competition,” said Jaeden. Despite his successes, Jaeden still considers Salmon Arm ‘home.’ “I always look forward to performing in my hometown region. The more I explore different parts of the world, the more grateful I am to have grown up in BC,” he said. Jaeden has strong ties to the OSO. “It is also a special privilege to appear again with the OSO, an ensemble that provided me crucial formative musical experiences during my studies. Maestro Thomson has been a great supporter to me, and it is an honour to perform with her again.” Jaeden is one of three soloists featured on Canadian Soundscapes, the OSO’s recording released last year, on which he performs Penticton composer Ernst Schneider’s Romantic Piano Concerto. With this program we also celebrate the return, after a three-year hiatus, of the traditional OSO/OSYO Side-by-Side performance, which sees the talented young musicians of the Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra join with their professional mentors and teachers of the OSO, this year to perform Richard Wagner’s majestic Overture to Die Meistersinger. “Hearing a full orchestra in a giant work like this is such a rush,” says Thomson. “With our OSO and OSYO combined we will raise the roof with acoustic power.” The Side-by-Side performance is an exceptional opportunity for OSYO musicians to ‘play with the pros,’ an experience that consistently results in accelerated learning and progress for them. Fingers will fly as the OSO opens the program for MUSICAL GIANTS with the fast and furious Overture to Russlan & Ludmilla, which, although a popular and frequently programmed work for orchestras around the world, others might recognize it as the theme music for the CBS sitcom “Mom.” CBC.ca describes it “Type A music — busy, caffeinated and extroverted.” Other works include American composer Florence Price’s The Oak, and Vancouver-based composer Jeffrey Ryan’s Panthalassa. Ongoing repairs to the flood-damaged stage at the Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre have necessitated a move for Sunday’s performance to Trinity United Church, 3300 Alexis Park Drive. Current ticket holders will be issued a new ticket for the venue. Join us for MUSICAL GIANTS — experience the power of the Symphony LIVE, in this blockbuster program! Contact the KCT Box Office at 250.469.8940 for Kelowna and Penticton performances, and Ticketseller at 250.549.7469 for the Vernon show.
